Public Procurement is defined as the acquisition, whether under formal contract or not, of works, supplies and services by public bodies. It ranges from the purchase of routine supplies or services to formal tendering and placing contracts for large infrastructural projects.
Our Corporate Procurement Mission Statement is “To ensure Laois County Council’s procurement function operates in accordance with best practice as set out by National and EU legislation, achieves optimum value for money purchasing across all functions of the organisation, while ensuring transparency and accountability and promoting an increasingly sustainable approach to our procurement activities.” Laois County Council procurements are governed by Public Sector Directive 2014/24/EU, National Legislation and Government Policy.
When purchasing goods & supplies less than €25,000 or works less than €50,000 which are not included on a national or sectoral framework, Laois County Council will undertake a quotation-based competition by direct invitation. In accordance with Government policy, supplies & services contracts exceeding €25,000 or works contracts exceeding €50,000 must be advertised as a National/EU tender process on the eTenders platform.
| National Threshold
eTenders |
EU Threshold (1/1/2022)
Offical Journal of EU-OJEU |
| Goods & Services >€25,000
Works >€50,000 |
Goods & Services >€215,000 Works >€5,382,000 |
How to do Business with Laois County Council?
New 2022 Public Procurement Guide for SMEs and Sole Traders, which aims to help Small and Medium Enterprises and Sole Traders make the most of business opportunities in the Public Sector.
This guide was developed by the Local Government sector to provide an introduction to Public Procurement Processes and Procedures. It aims to explain how Local Authorities such as Laois County Council purchase goods, services and works and to encourage businesses of all sizes to engage with the many business opportunities within Local Authorities and the Public Sector.
Laois County Council utilises many of the national contracts put in place by the Office of Government Procurement (OGP) and other central purchasing bodies. Categories include Energy, ICT, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), Legal, Cleaning, Security services etc. The OGP has prepared a short video providing an overview on public procurement in Ireland, which can be viewed here
Upcoming National and EU public sector tender opportunities are advertised on the eTenders platform
eTenders is a European wide tendering platform used by all public sector bodies including Contracting Authorities and Central Purchasing Bodies such as the OGP for National & EU Level Tenders.
Please view short video here for Suppliers on How to Register on eTenders and create alerts.
Under the auspices of Kerry County Council, the LGOPC through the Supplygov portal is tasked with leading two categories of procurement on behalf of the public sector, i.e. Minor Building Works and Civil and Plant Hire. LGOPC has developed frameworks and dynamic purchasing systems for categories such as Plant hire, Civil Engineering Materials, Bitumen and Minor building works to Residential/Commercial buildings.
Please see guidance on How to Register as a Supplier on Supplygov.ie and Supplier Guide to Request for Tender.